When posting please remember that you are wanting to create a business relationship - whether a contract or work relationship. Use your post to present a professional image of yourself & if relevant, your organisation. In addition to what you are looking for, provide your name, title, and contact details.
The following is an article I received from Suzanne Hattingh, as she wasn't really sure where it should be posted on skills-universe. Her email generated a conversation & resulted in a decision to form this group - finally educed by the Cloete & van Schalkwyk article.
CHE (Council on Higher Education) should follow the UK example of programme accreditation by the professional bodies.
The accreditation of engineering degree programmes in the United Kingdom (UK) is done by structures in the engineering profession, based on standards set by the regulatory body for the engineering profession, in consultation with the discipline-specific professional engineering institutions.
Universities submit applications for programme accreditation for degrees to discipline-specific professional engineering institutions that have been licensed by the regulatory body, the Engineering Council. These institutions evaluate the programmes against the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence, which stipulates the learning outcomes, standards of competence and Graduate Attributes, i.e. the expected capability of graduates from an accredited programme.
The standard was developed collaboratively, in consultation with engineers representing the breadth of the profession from industry, academia and many different disciplines and specialisations. (https://www.engc.org.uk)
Other entities in the UK deal with aspects relating to the registration of higher education institutions – but the accreditation of the programmes is the responsibility of professionals directly involved in the industry.
Such a system should be explored in South Africa, especially in line with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) process of the formal recognition of professional bodies, who meet specified criteria. There are currently 102 such recognised bodies for a wide range of professionals, including Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) professionals, Equine and Equestrian professionals, Estate Agents, Exercise professionals, Landscape Architects, Mine Surveyors, Plumbing professionals and Timber Construction professionals, alongside well-known ones, such as the Engineering Council, Law Society and Nursing Council.
Elements of the UK model could help in addressing the serious challenge of graduate unemployment in South Africa, which is partly due to degrees that are not needed in industry, and graduates who are being prepared for jobs that no longer exist, or that have been substantially changed by 4th Industrial Revolution Technology.
The UK’s profession-driven system for the evaluation and approval of degrees will need to be adapted for the South African context, but it should be considered during the CHE’s design of the new Quality Assurance Framework (QAF).
It is logical that the national accreditation process for institutions offering degrees should make provision for input from the sector of society for which graduates are being prepared, otherwise the accreditation process contributes to the disjuncture that already exists between higher education and the workplace.
